George J. Veith, PhD
The Fall of South Vietnam: How Hanoi’s Final Military Campaign Won the War, March-April 1975
This presentation will outline Hanoi’s plans for its 1975 offensive, and then discuss SVN President Nguyen Van Thieu’s tactical mistakes that led to the military collapse of South Vietnam. It will include information from published North Vietnamese primary sources that provides critical insights into how they adjusted their plans as the campaign unfolded, including directives from General Vo Nguyen Giap in Hanoi to the southern commanders and decisions made by the Politburo. Ultimately, Veith will demonstrate that the South Vietnamese did not collapse and flee, but stood and fought in many battles. The session will help inform the attendees in advance of the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon in 2025.
George J. Veith, PhD, is a former U.S. Army Captain who served in armor units in the United States and Germany from 1979–1986. He earned his PhD in History from Monash University and is the author of several books on the Vietnam War including, most recently, Drawn Swords in a Distant Land: South Vietnam’s Shattered Dreams (Encounter Press, 2021). He has testified before Congress on the POW/MIA accounting mission, and presented numerous papers at scholarly conferences on the Vietnam War.
